Standalone Blog Pages

December 6, 2012

PBS: The Documentary Film "The Grove" Is Must See TV

I
was channel surfing two nights ago, and stumbled on a terrific documentary film about the National Aids Memorial Grove that was airing
on KQED, our local PBS station in San Francisco’s bay area.The Grove
is a documentary that begins by recounting the early days of the AIDS
pandemic in the United States, and then focuses on the very poignant and
touching story of bay area landscape architect Stephen Marcus and his
fatal battle with AIDS.With
Stephen’s death - his friends, family, and his life partner Jack
Porter, wanted to create a memorial that honored Stephen’s life, and
they came together with other residents of San Francisco, and the idea
for theNational Aids Memorial Grove was born.This
wouldn’t be an interesting film without conflict and controversy, and
The Grove doesn’t disappoint. I’m not going to spoil the central
conflict of the movie - it’s well worth watching - and it's a debate that I have a strong opinion about - that I'll share at a later date.

This is how the
filmmakers describe their film.

More
Americans have been lost to AIDS than in all the U.S. wars since 1900,
and the pandemic has killed 22 million people worldwide. However, few
know about the existence of the National AIDS Memorial, a seven-acre
grove hidden in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park. The Grove chronicles
the garden’s transformation from a neglected eyesore to landscaped
sanctuary to national memorial. The film shows how a community in crisis
found healing and remembrance, and how the seeds of a few visionaries
blossomed into something larger and more provocative than they could
have imagined. But as the Grove’s stakeholders seek broader public
recognition, a battle erupts over what constitutes an appropriate
memorial for the AIDS pandemic.

The Grovewill be repeated on Saturday December 8th on KQED at 6pm (the film is 60 minutes long). Checklocal listings for when The Grove will be airing in your city.I
have been to the National Aids Memorial Grove in Golden Gate Park a few
times, and it’s a peaceful and serene slice of heaven, amid the chaotic
urban landscape of San Francisco. If you’re a local and have never
visited the bucolic Grove, you should put it on your “to do” list. If
you’re planning a visit to our fair city, and Golden Gate Park is on
your itinerary (and it should be), spend some time in the Aids Memorial
Grove.From
December 1st, 2012 to December 26th, 2012 there is a month-long
text-to-donate campaign, “A Time For Hope; A Time for Healing.” Any
mobile subscriber regardless of carrier can text the word “HEAL” to “501501” to make a $10.00 charitable donation to the National AIDS Memorial.All
donations to the text-to-donate campaign will support the National AIDS
Memorial year-round mission to honor and pay tribute to those who have
lost their lives to HIV/AIDS; continue to create and maintain a
permanent memorial grove located in San Francisco as a place for
healing; and expand youth awareness and scholarship programs to inspire
the next generation of leaders to help find a cure for the pandemic, now
in its 30th year.The text to donate campaign runs until December 26, 2012.. About the National Aids Memorial GroveIn
October 1996, a historic milestone was reached when Congress and the
President of the United States approved the National AIDS Memorial Grove
Act. This official designation as the National AIDS Memorial Grove, a
status comparable to that of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Mount
Rushmore, and the USS Arizona at Pearl Harbor, proclaims to the world
that there is now a dedicated space in the national public landscape
where anyone who has been touched by AIDS can grieve openly without
being stigmatized, can find comfort among others whose lives have been
affected by AIDS and HIV, and can experience the feelings of renewal and
hope inherent in nature. As the AIDS pandemic continues to invade
humanity in unprecedented numbers, the establishment of the Grove as the
national gathering place for healing, hope, and remembrance also serves
as an important marker in the history of this dreadful disease.